Portable electric hand-held clothes steamer

ABSTRACT

A portable hand-held electric clothes steamer has a one-piece body or housing with an integral fill opening intermediate a water chamber and a combined steam chamber and water trap, the position of the water inlet opening defining the maximum water level. Electric neon indicators are provided for showing when the unit is plugged in and also for showing when the unit has run dry. Provision is made for use of the steamer, in one embodiment, in either domestic or European current.

[451 July 3, 1973 ABSTRACT A portable hand-held electric clothes steamerhas a one-piece intermedi chamber position of the water inlet openingmum water level. Electric neon in d for showing when the unit owing whenthe unit has run revision is made for use of the steamer, in one 8/1942Waage.......................

4/1969 body or housing with an integral fill opening ate a water chamberand a combined steam efining the maxi in either domestic or Europeancurrent.

8 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Attorney- Marechal, Biebel, French & Brugg and water trap, the

dicators are provide is plugged in and also for sh dry. P embodimentPORTABLE ELECTRIC HAND-HELD CLOTHES STEAMER Inventor: Emil RobertPlasko, Dayton, Ohio Assignee: Micro Devices Corp., Dayton, Ohio Filed:Aug. 30, 1971 App]. No.: 176,008

38/69, 68/222 A47j 51/00 Field of Search...................... 38/69,75, 77.8; 68/222 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,570,2763/1971 68/222 3,620,055 11/1971 Blachly et a]. 68/222 United StatesPatent [191 Plasko [51] Int.Cl........

PATENTED JlIL3 I975 SHEEN. 0E2

FIG-3 A TTORNE YS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Small portable electrichand-held clothes steamers are useful in eliminating wrinkles fromclothes, particularly for travelers and for persons who do not have timeto have their clothes professionally pressed. Examples of such units areshown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,395,469, 3,436,851, 3,470,719, 3,485,065 and3,570,276. Such clothes steamers commonly have a reservoir forcontaining a quantity of water, an electric heating element forproducing steam, a steam-emitting ironing head for applying the steam tothe garment, and a water trap to prevent spilling of water if the unitis accidentally tipped onto its side.

Prior steamers as characterized above have suffered from one or moredeficiencies which has decreased their usefulness and has contributed toa less than complete acceptance by the public. One such problem residesin the fact that in such prior units it is necessary to fill the waterreservoir to a line and is thus necessary to estimate or guage theamount of water added. Overfilling of the reservoir not only results inthe unit tending to spit water when used, but also results in waterbeing spilled from the unit if it is accidentally tipped on its side asthe amount of water in the reservoir will exceed the capacity of thetrap to contain the water.

Further, while it has been customary to provide a thermal relay todisconnect the electric heating element upon the occurrence of an excesstemperature rise, such as when the unit is plugged in without water orwhen it runs dry, it is necessary to observe the absence of steam or toshake the unit to determine an absence of water to determine whentheunit is going dry.

A further problem with the prior units is the fact that theirconstruction uses multiple dies and accordingly are relativelyexpensiveto manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to anelectric handheld clothes steamer which has an improved one-piecehousing which can be injection molded in plastic from a single mold at arelatively lower cost. The housing is provided with a water fillingarrangement which is easy to use and which is designed so thatit may befilled to the top without over-filling the reservoir. Specifically, afill plug is associated with the housing at a water inlet level whichpermits the filling of the housing upto the level of the plug, thuseliminating the necessity for guessing or estimating theamount of waterneeded. A trap chamber is formed as an integral part of the housing.

In the preferred embodiment, electric indicators are provided to showwhen the unit is ON' and also to show when the unit is DRY. Further, inone embodiment, provision is made for operation ofthe unit on eitherEuropean or domestic voltages.

It is accordingly an important object of this invention to provide asimplified and improved electric handheld clothes steamer. I

A further object is to provide a hand-held steamer as outlined above inwhich a single housing forms an integral reservoir, water trap chamberand steam-emitting nozzle.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a hand-heldsteamer, as outlined above, including electric indicator means forproviding a visual indication whenever the unit is plugged in to asource of electricity and further providing a second indication forinforming the user whenever the units reservoir is dry. These and otherobjects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description, the accompanying drawings and the appendedclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a vertical section throughthe steamer taken generally along the line 1-1 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view thereof;

FIG. 4 is an elevation of the nozzle face;

FIG. 5 is a section through the nozzle face taken along the line 5-5 ofFIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of a portion of FIG. 1 showingthe mounting of the heater within the housing;

FIG. 7 is a partial section and a partial exploded view of the nozzle;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the bottom plate;

FIG. 9 is a view of the bottom of the steamer with the bottom platebroken away to expose the wiring connections;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 but showing the connections inmodified form of the invention for use on either 230 volt or volt power;and

FIG. 11 is an exploded view, partially in section of an adapter plug forthe embodiment of FIG. 10;

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT I filled nylon or modifiedpolyphenyleneoxide (PPO) sold under the trade name of Noryl" by GeneralElectric Company, Plastics Department, Selkirk NY [2158.

The housing 15 is formed with a generally conicallyshaped bottom chambersection including a lower end defining a water chamber 17, and an upperend defining acombined steam chamber and water trap 18. The upper end ofthe chamber and trap 18 is joined with a somewhat flattened, divergingand angularly disposed nozzle section 20 which terminates at a nozzleopening 21 (FIG. 3). The steam chamber and trap 18 is formed with anintegral, downwardly-depending trap tube 25 which extends substantiallythe height of the steam chamber, and which opens toward the chamber 17and leads into the interior of the nozzle section 20.

Means for adding water to the water chamber portion 17 of the housing 15includes a laterally-offset and upwardly-opening fill aperture 28 whichis closed by a re movable plug or cap 30. The aperture 28 is positionedon the housing 15 at a region which is intermediate the steam chamber 18and water chamber 17, and defines the maximum water level in the housingas indicated at dle 35 cooperates with the main portion of the housing15 to define the fill opening. The bottom of the housing, as shown inFIG. 2 includes a transversely offset bottom portion 37 which forms thebottom support for the handle and which defines an opening 38 (FIG. 1)between the handle 35 and the housing to permit gripping of the handle35. Further, the bottom portion of the housing 15 has outwardly flaredsupport portions as indicated at 40 at locations which are symmetricalwith respect to the transverse portion 37, the nozzle section 20, and toeach other, at substantially 120 spacing, to provide a stable basesurface for the steamer l2 and to provide attaching regions for the baseplate. 7

The nozzle section is terminated at a transversely elongated nozzleplate 45 (FIG. 4). Plate 45 may be formed of the same material as thatof the housing 15, or alternatively, may be formed of die-cast metal inwhich the outer surface is coated with PTFE. Forming the nozzle plate 45of die-cast metal has the additional benefit of providing an ironingsurface which retains heat and which may be used, in combination withthe steam, for pressing out wrinkles.

The plate 45 is formed with a planar applicator face 46 in which isformed a transverse groove 47. Opening into the groove are a series oforifices defined by short tubes 50 which extend a short distanceinwardly of the nozzle section 20, and provide a secondary trap forpreventing the spitting of water through the nozzle openings 52 definedby the tubes. As shown in FIG. 5, the individual tubes 50 may be formedof metal and may be molded directly to the plate 45. The transversegroove 47 communicates with each of the openings 52 to assist in auniform distribution of the steam, and further prevents the occurrenceof a pressure build-up within the steam chamber 18 in the event that atemporary blockage is formed at a portion of the face 46. The nozzleplate 45 is retained at the opening 21, as shown in FIG. 7 by means of apair of screws 54 tapped into bosses 55 formed in the housing 15.

The water chamber 17 of the housing 15 is generally circular incross-sectional configuration and is open at the bottom. The bottomopening is closed by a heater assembly indicated generally at 60 inFIG. 1. The heater assembly 60 includes a heater shroud 62, which may bea sheet metal stamping formed with an opening 63 at the top and with aradially outwardly extending flange 64 at the bottom. An electricheating element 65 is positioned in the shroud 62. The element 65 isformed with a peripheral support or mounting flange 66. A peripheralseries of tabs 68 are formed out of the side wall of the shroud 62 andform flange-engaging ledges as shown in the enlarged detail in FIG. 6.Further, the cutout portions of the tabs 68 form small water inletopenings 70 leading into the interior of the shroud 62. Three of thetabs 68 are sufficient for supporting the element65.

The bottom surface of the flange 66 is engaged by an annular bottomheater support plate 72 which is formed with a diameter slightly greaterthan the flared flange portion 64 of the shroud 62. The insideopening inthe support plate 72 is adapted to receive the lower depending portionof the heating element 65 while the outside circumference is adapted tobe received within a bottom annular recess formed at the lower end ofthe housing 15, in engagement with an O-ring seal 75. The heater supportplate 72 may be assembled against the flange 64 and secured in place bya suitable sealant therebetween indicated at 76 in FIG. 6. A siliconeelastomer may be used for this purpose to form a watertight seal and abond between these members.

The assembly 60 is held in place, as shown in FIG. 1, by a bottomclosure plate illustrated generally at 80 in FIG. 8. The bottom plate isformed with an outer shape which conforms generally to that of thebottom of the housing 15. It is formed, in the region surrounding thebottom opening of the water chamber 17, with a raised peripheral ledge82. When the plate 80 is assembled in position, as shown in FIG. 1, theledge 82 engages the heater support plate 72 on the side thereofimmediately opposite the O-ring seal 75, and is retained in place byscrews 84 through openings 85. Two of the screws extend into the housingoff-set portions 40 while the third screw extends into a center boss 88formed in the housing portion 37. The inside surface of the plate 80 ispartially ribbed as indicated at 88 in FIG. 8 for the purpose of addingstrength to the plate.

As previously indicated, the steamer of this invention preferablyprovides visual indicating means for informing the user whenever thepower is applied to the heating element 65 and for further indicatingwhenever the water supply is omitted or has been depleted. For thispurpose, the offset portion 37 of the housing is provided with integralplastic windows and 96 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. These window sectionsare formed at regions which are transversely adjacent the handle 35 andcomprise relatively thin sections of plastic material through whichlight may be transmitted. The plastic material, at the window sections,may be suitably formed with indicia as indicated by the lettering HEATand DRY in FIG. 3.

The wiring components useful with this invention are illustrated in FIG.9 which includes a HEAT neon pilot lamp 100 and a DRY neon lamp 102. Thelamps 100 and 102 are positioned inwardly of the corresponding windowsections 95 and 96 adjacent ledges 103. The ledges 103 also serve toform a light shield so that the light emitted from each lamp is isolatedto its respective window. Projections 103A on the base 80 engage thelamps 100 and 102 and hold them in place.

The circuit further preferably includes a customary thermal cutout relay104 and a high-temperature thermal safety fuse 105. The fuse 105 may bea microtemp device made in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 3,180,958 byMicro Devices Corp., Dayton, Ohio 45439 the assignee of this invention.An insulating washer 106 is positioned on the plate 72 to isolate theelectrical parts against possible short circuits with the plate 72.

The pilot light 100 in series with a protective resistor 110 isconnected across the circuit defined by the inlet leads 112 so that thelamp 100 is on at all times power is applied to the heater 65. On theother hand, the lamp 102 is placed in series with the resistor 110 andparallel with the thermal relay 104 so that the lamp 102 is illuminatedonly upon the opening of this relay.

The operation of the embodiment of the invention described thus far isconsidered to be largely selfevident from the foregoing description. Thefilling of the reservoir 17 is simplified in that the plug 30 is removedandthe steamer held under a water tap until water is'brought up to thelevel of the aperture 28. Thus, in the up-right position, the unitcannot be overfilled and there is no necessity for visually guessing orgauging the amount of water to be added. The trap section 18 isspecifically defined with a volume which will accept the capacity of thereservoir 17 without spilling if the steamer should be accidentallytipped onto its side. Ribs 108 on the housing provide a convenientregion for grasping the housing whenever it is desired to empty thereservoir 17 of hot water by pouring through the fill aperture 28.

When power is applied to the inlet leads 1 12, it is also appliedthrough the fuse 105 and the relay 104 to the heating element 65. Thewater in the reservoir 17 freely enters the region between the shroudand the heater 65 in the opening 70 and the steam which is formedescapes through the top opening 63 in the shroud and collects within thechamber 18. As soon as the chamber 18 is fully saturated with steam,steam begins to be emitted through the nozzle tubes 50 and the hand-heldsteamer may then be suitably manipulated to apply the steam to a garmentfor the purpose of removing wrinkles and the like.

As soon as the unit is plugged in, the neon lamp 100 is illuminated toindicate to the user that he is getting power to the heating element.This lamp will remain on at all times when the unit is powered. In theevent that the water chamber should run dry, the build-up in heatresults in the opening of the thermal relay'104 and the illumination ofthe lamp 102, providing a positive visual indication that the steamerhas gone dry or has been plugged in without water and accordingly shouldbe disconnected. In the event of an internal short or a failure of therelay 104, the device 105 will open.

Users often find that it is convenient to carry handheld steamers whentraveling, since it is at these times that it is more difficult to keepones clothes in a neat and pressed condition. The steamer of thisinvention is particularly adapted for this purpose as it is a highlycompact unit and may be readily carried with other personal items. Forthis purpose, a center tapped heater element 65a, commonly referred toas a threewire heater, may be connected and used as shown in FIG. 10.Two of the wires, namely a and b, are used with 230 volt current while acombination of wires a and c is selected for 115 volt operation.

An adapter plug assembly for this purpose is illustrated at 115 in FIG.11. The leads a and c are brought out at conventional male plugs 116 and117 which are designed to be inserted within the common domestichouse-hold receptacle. The lead b is brought out at a female recessedconnector 120. A European current adapter 130 includes a dead receptacle131 for the plug element 117 connected to lead 0, an electrically hotreceptacle 132 for receiving plug element 116 connected to lead a, and amale connector 133 proportioned to be received in the receptacle 120.Plug members 134 and 135, at the other side of the adapter 130, areproportioned to be received within the customary European outlet. Inthis manner, a steamer is provided by means of which either 230 or 115volt operation may be selected simply by the insertion or the removal ofthe adapter 130.

While the forms of apparatus herein described constitute preferredembodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited to these precise forms of apparatus, and that changes maybe made therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An electric hand-held steamer comprising a onepiece housing havingmeans defining a water chamber and a superimposed combined steam chamberand water trap, electric heater means in said water chamber forgenerating steam forflow into said steam chamber, a steam-applying headopening into said steam chamber, means on said housing defining anintegral laterally-offset handle, and means in the upper part of saidhandle defining an upwardly-opening fill aperture intermediate saidwater and steam chambers and opening into said water chamber, theposition of said aperture on said housing defining the maximum waterlevel in said housing 2. The steamer of claim 1 further comprising meansin said housing defining a bottom opening, a heater assembly received insaid bottom opening and extending into said water chamber, said assemblyincluding said heater, a shroud received over said heater and definingopening means for admitting water to said heater, a bottom plate havinga peripheral edge extending out wardly of said opening, O-ring meansbetween said bottom plate and said housing, and means for retaining saidbottom plate in sealing relation to said O-ring.

3. A hand-held steam presser comprising housing means defining a tankfor containing a quantity of water, electric heater means in said tankfor vaporizing said water into steam, a steam-applying head on saidhousing means for applying steam to a garment, first electric indicatormeans connected to operate whenever said heater is connected to a sourceof electricity, a thermal cutout relay for interrupting power to saidheater upon the depletion of said water supply, and second indicatormeans connected to be actuated upon the opening of said relay to providea visual indication of lack of water.

4. The presser of claim 3 in which said indicators are neon lamps.

5. The presser of claim 4 in which said housing is formed of plasticmaterial having integral window means, said lamps being positioned insaid housing adjacent said window means.

6. The presser of claim 3 in which said heater has a two-part heaterelement for operation on either 230 or volts, plug means for connectingsaid heater for normal 115 volt operation, and a plug adapter forconverting said heater to 230 volt operation.

7. In a hand-held steam presser housing a tank for containing a quantityof water, an electric heater in said tank is normally submerged in thewater for vaporizing said water into steam, a steam applying head forapplying steam to a garment, and a thermal cutout relay which opens andinterrupts power to said heater upon the depletion of said water supply,the improvement comprising an electric lamp connected across said relayto be energized only upon the opening of said relay to provide apositive visual indication of lack of water.

8. An electric hand-held steamer comprising a onepiece molded housinghaving means defining a water chamber and a superimposed combined steamchamber and water trap, said housing defining an opening at the bottomthereof, said housing at said opening defining a generally radially,outwardly-directed heatersupporting ledge, a heater assembly forgenerating steam for flow into said steam chamber, said heater assemblyincluding an electric heater received in said bottom opening andextending into said water chamber, shroud means over said heater andhaving therein means defining an opening for admitting water into said3,742,629 7 8 heater, abottom plate havingaperipheral edge proporplatein sealing relation to said O-ring, and means in tioned to be receivedin overlying relation to said ledge, said housing defining a fillaperture for admitting water an O-ring received between said bottomplate and said into said water chamber. housing at said ledge, means forretaining said bottom

1. An electric hand-held steamer comprising a one-piece housing havingmeans defining a water chamber and a superimposed combined steam chamberand water trap, electric heater means in said water chamber forgenerating steam for flow into said steam chamber, a steam-applying headopening into said steam chamber, means on said housing defining anintegral laterally-offset handle, and means in the upper part of saidhandle defining an upwardlyopening fill aperture intermediate said waterand steam chambers and opening into said water chamber, the position ofsaid aperture on said housing defining the maximum water level in saidhousing.
 2. The steamer of claim 1 further comprising means in saidhousing defining a bottom opening, a heater assembly received in saidbottom opening and extending into said water chamber, said assemblyincluding said heater, a shroud received over said heater and definingopening means for admitting water to said heater, a bottom plate havinga peripheral edge extending outwardly of said opening, O-ring meansbetween said bottom plate and said housing, and means for retaining saidbottom plate in sealing relation to said O-ring.
 3. A hand-held steampresser comprising housing means defining a tank for containing aquantity of water, electric heater means in said tank for vaporizingsaid water into steam, a steam-applying head on said housing means forapplying steam to a garment, first electric indicator means connected tooperate whenever said heater is connected to a source of electricity, athermal cutout relay for interrupting power to said heater upon thedepletion of said water supply, and second indicator means connected tobe actuated upon the opening of said relay to provide a visualindication of lack of water.
 4. The presser of claim 3 in which saidindicators are neon lamps.
 5. The presser of claim 4 in which saidhousing is formed of plastic material having integral window means, saidlamps being positioned in said housing aDjacent said window means. 6.The presser of claim 3 in which said heater has a two-part heaterelement for operation on either 230 or 115 volts, plug means forconnecting said heater for normal 115 volt operation, and a plug adapterfor converting said heater to 230 volt operation.
 7. In a hand-heldsteam presser housing a tank for containing a quantity of water, anelectric heater in said tank is normally submerged in the water forvaporizing said water into steam, a steam applying head for applyingsteam to a garment, and a thermal cutout relay which opens andinterrupts power to said heater upon the depletion of said water supply,the improvement comprising an electric lamp connected across said relayto be energized only upon the opening of said relay to provide apositive visual indication of lack of water.
 8. An electric hand-heldsteamer comprising a one-piece molded housing having means defining awater chamber and a superimposed combined steam chamber and water trap,said housing defining an opening at the bottom thereof, said housing atsaid opening defining a generally radially, outwardly-directedheater-supporting ledge, a heater assembly for generating steam for flowinto said steam chamber, said heater assembly including an electricheater received in said bottom opening and extending into said waterchamber, shroud means over said heater and having therein means definingan opening for admitting water into said heater, a bottom plate having aperipheral edge proportioned to be received in overlying relation tosaid ledge, an O-ring received between said bottom plate and saidhousing at said ledge, means for retaining said bottom plate in sealingrelation to said O-ring, and means in said housing defining a fillaperture for admitting water into said water chamber.